Bhatia picks another eagle, lies 37th as Fleetwood leads Travelers

Akshay Bhatia landed his second eagle in as many days during his steady round of 2-under 68 at the Travelers Championship here to be placed in tied 37th spot. Bhatia, an outside contender for a Ryder Cup place, is now down two places from overnight T-35.

While the Indian-American Hero golfer, Bhatia, had an eagle and three birdies against three bogeys, another golfer with an Indian connection, Aaron Rai, shot a superb 7-under 63, including four birdies in the last five holes. Rai is Tied-14th and had rounds 68-73 on the first two days.

Bhatia, 34th in world rankings, is trying to secure a place in the Top-30 to play the Tour Championship for the second straight year. Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood, seeking his first PGA TOUR victory in his 159th start, took advantage of great scoring conditions to shoot 7-under 63 to take a three-shot lead going into the final round of the Travelers Championship.

His bogey-free 63 included five birdies and one eagle on No. 13. Fleetwood has seven DP World Tour titles and three Ryder Cups, but is looking for a maiden PGA Tour title. He has 41 top-10 finishes, the most of any player without a win on TOUR since 1983. He also has five runner-up finishes on TOUR.

Three of Fleetwood’s four top-10s this season have come in Signature Events – at The Genesis Invitational (T5), RBC Heritage (7th), and Truist Championship (T4). He was also T4 at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Russell Henley carded a bogey-free 61 to be tied in second. He also tied career-low rounds on TOUR, and he seeks his second victory of the season, and also his second Signature Event victory.

The 2023 Travelers Championship winner, Keegan Bradley, carded seven birdies en route to a bogey-free 63. World No. 1 and 2024 Travelers Championship winner Scottie Scheffler opened the third round with a triple-bogey seven and shot 72. He was T-8 and was now nine shots behind Fleetwood. Rory McIlroy (68) was also T-8 and his round included four birdies on the front nine, but gave away a double bogey and a bogey against one birdie on the back nine.